


More Than A War || l.s.

by Rose_Dagger_9194



Series: More Than A War || l.s. [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 1940's, Angst, Death, Dunkirk, M/M, War, sad asf, sorry in advance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 08:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11687643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_Dagger_9194/pseuds/Rose_Dagger_9194
Summary: "I can't die now! I promised that I'd go back to him!"~Harry is fighting in the war of Dunkirk 1940. Louis is his spouse he left behind a year ago. The only thing Harry has left to remind him of home is a single photo of Louis that he carries with him no matter where he goes.⚠⚠WARNING⚠⚠CHARACTER DEATHDUNKIRK MOVIE SPOILERS





	More Than A War || l.s.

_"You know that I'll always have you in my heart, right?"_ _Louis spoke up one night, hand reaching up to run through Harry's hair as the boys head rest on his chest. Harry enjoyed listening to his heartbeat and feeling the rumble of his chest as he spoke._

_"Don't say that.." Harry mumbled softly, hand reaching up and resting over Louis' stomach._

_"No... I'm gonna say it because I want you to know that its true." Louis added, causing Harry to look up, chin resting against the boys chest. They both stared into each others eyes for a moment before Harry just smiled._

_"I know, Lou."_

_~_

Harry leaned against the railing of the ship, overlooking the pier where the thousands of soldiers were waiting to get on another ship to leave. Its been almost a year since he's been there, the French in their boundaries and their army at the beach to start their evacuation. They knew that the Germans had the advantage and their four hundred thousand soldiers at Dunkirk weren't able to stand or fight without getting casualties. There's submarines and aircraft and soldiers and they're all sitting out like fish in a barrel. Harry knew they're going to be picked off one by one and have no chance of survival.

Harry had applied to work with the medical when more and more casualties were being shown which allowed him to be one to go to one of the first ships with the wounded. He wanted to get these brave soldiers out and back to England and thats what he's damn well going to do.

He smiled a bit, feeling almost relief when the ship started its slow advantage to leaving. He was going home. He was going home and he was going to see his mum again, his sister, his Louis. Everything is fine.

Then there was a loud boom, the ship below his feet shaking with the impact of what could only be a torpedo that hit the bottom of the ship. His smile left his face and he swung around to look at all the soldiers running around with terrified and defeated looks on their faces. Their one shot at freedom and that was ruined once again.

"Abandon ship! Everyone abandon ship!"

Harry glanced around to where it was being shouted, one of the lieutenants were watching the ship slowly start crumbling down and sinking. There were soldiers to his left and to his right jumping over the railings of the ship and swimming their way to the shore. He couldn't go down with this ship so he turned back around and just jumped down from the ship as well, his body slamming into the frigid water which would give his body a shock if all of the adrenaline wasn't a factor.

He had pounds of weight on his body to make swimming a little harder but he still tried with all of his might. The ship was closing in on him, though, tilting towards the pier where he was trying to swim to. It was either fight for his life or get crushed and he wasn't going to die. He couldn't die. Not today.

Then he caught sight of an outstretched hand being offered towards him and he gave three more strokes with his arm before he was able to grab hold of the others hand and be pulled out of harms way and onto the wooden support of the pier. He hiked himself up onto it, leaning back against the support beams and just panting softly as he looked to the other who helped him. There were two. He only nodded in thanks, not bothering to question why the two weren't wet and why they jumped into the water to get wet as well. Everyone does drastic things to survive and he learned never to question it unless they're in life or death situations.

  
_~_

_"You know.. Its so cute how you kept pestering me about going on this date with you, Louis." Harry spoke, leaning forward in the booth, sipping carefully from the strawberry milkshake that he had ordered._

_Louis just gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "Well... Kind of have to be persuasive being a gay man in the world these days."_

_Harry gave a laugh, shaking his head a bit. "I could have been straight and had you sent to a mental institution for trying to turn me gay with your sins." He commented it. That only seemed to make Louis laugh. Harry decided that he really liked Louis' laugh._

_"Yet you didn't. Guess my assumptions prove to be right again."_

_"Again?" Harry asked with a fond smile._

_"Yeah. I assumed that if things went well, we'd be together for a while."_

_"You dont even know if that's true or not."_

_Louis only smiled mischievously. "Bring this up in a year and I'll tell you how right I am right now."_

_Harry could only laugh and take another sip of his milkshake._

_~_

Seeing as they all had their last ship blown up and sunk, they sent all the soldiers that made it out to another ship already sailing away. They needed another exit route.

Once their boat got to the side of the ship, he grabbed for the rope climb they were offered and before he could get himself anywhere up the side of the ship, he decided to help others try to climb. It was deemed difficult with many men climbing at once added onto the swaying of not only the time boat they were all trying to get off of but also the swaying of the larger boat they were trying to board. Needless to say, many men were falling off.

Eventually, Harry just took his turn to start scaling up the rope on the side of the ship because he couldn't continue helping others. He had to dodge a couple falling bodies but he didnt help them. He couldn't. He needed to get himself up onto the ship and stop worrying over everyone else. Everyone was selfish, he needs to start being a bit more selfish himself if he wants to survive.

However, he did wait until the two boys that saved him came on board and followed them because he wanted to stay close to the ones that saved his life. When they all went towards the entrance, he smiled a bit at the lady that was handing them all life vests as they got in with kind words and sweet smiles. It was nice, he hasn't gotten that feeling from anyone for a long time. Then he caught sight of one of the two that saved him sneak down the stairs instead if going inside and just eyed him easily for a couple seconds. That was a bit strange yet he didn't want to bring much attention to it. So, he found himself turned away and going inside the ship.

There was so much voices speaking over one another as he entered the crowded deck below. But it didnt send him into any sort of panic, it was a good sound. So much life in a state of chaos and death. He slowly walked around, following behind the other boy but his eyes were looking all around at the smiling faces and how everything seemed good. He eventually found a piece of toast with jam on it and gasped, reaching over and grabbing for two pieces, instantly shoveling it in his mouth. The only good food he's seen for a long time, it tasted so good and he couldn't get enough of it.

Eventually, he stopped walking and just looked down at the other who was eating his own toast and looking around. He fixed the life vest over his chest before acknowledging him.

"What's wrong with your friend?" He spoke up, still with a mouthful of toast and not taking the moment to swallow before he took more of the toast into his mouth. He was starving.

The boy only continued to look around, not answering him right now. Then he just glanced back at Harry, taking a bite from his toast. "He's looking for a quick way out.. In case we go down."

That made Harry's chewing slow down a moment as he watched him. In case we go down. Which, ideally, wasn't what he wanted to think about at the moment but he had a point. Without any other words being shared, the boy turned around and started to walk away through the crowd, to which Harry followed straight behind him. He seemed to know more than he does so he decided to follow his lead and make his chances of survival a bit better.

Once they landed in a spot that the other seemed to be a rather good place to stop, right below the door they had came in through, they both looked around. There were ladies filling cups and holding trays of jam on toast. Smiles on everyones faces. Harry wanted everything to be okay. He wanted everything to finally go right for once.

Of course he spoke too soon.

~

 _"Harry, honey, something came in the post for you today." Louis called out, carrying the large_ _package in from outside, kicking the door shut. He looked over it a moment and then just took it into the kitchen, setting it on the counter. He didnt exactly hesitate to_ _grab for a knife and cut the box open. Harry's told him before that's what was his was theirs and vice versa. However, when he opened the box he just froze and stared down at the contents. The knife in his hand falling out and onto the floor almost as if life was moving in slow motion._

_"Lou? What was in the post, darling? Is it something that my mum sent m—" Harry spoke, freezing in place when he saw the way that Louis stood frozen in place. "Sweetie?" He asked softly, stepping forward and careful not to step on the knife on the floor. When he looked at the box, he felt his blood run thin and just gave a small gulp._

_"You... You can't." Louis finally spoke up. "No. /No/ you can't! I just got you! You can't leave!" He was starting to get more frantic and tried to shut the box and pick it up. "You're not leaving me, this is a mistake. This isn't for you. This is someone else's!"_

_"Louis!" Harry shouted out, moving to grab Louis before he could walk back to the door because he knew that Louis would try_ _to_ _quite literally take the package back and return it. He couldn't do that because its a sign of disrespect and he's almost certain that it would also be illegal as well. "Stop it, honey, its alright."_

 _"No! No, Harry, its not! Th-They're going to take you away from me."_ _Louis cried out, shaking his head and keeping his eyes down. He doesn't cry. He won't cry. "You're not going. You can't go. We-we promised each other forever."_

_Harry nodded and just slowly pulled the package back, setting it on the counter since Louis couldn't fight against him anymore. Then he just pulled the boy close and leaned down enough to press his nose against his neck while Louis' hands instantly went up to his hair._

_"I promised forever... I'm not gonna break that promise."_

_~_

The ship gave a strong jostle, the sound of a collision bomb going off being heard throughout the entire lower deck of the ship. Harry's body jolted at the force and he reached out to steady himself on the closest soldier besides him. There wasn't much time to think before another explosion came and then water was cascading through the holes made in the side of the ships faster than anyone could move. There were holes in the ship so the water came from all of them with a force enough to toss soldiers feet away from where they were. The ship filled with water before anyone had the chance to even look for an exit.

Harry got swept off his feet, barely getting time to take a deep breath in to save himself from drowning. It was chaos one after the other. Soldiers were kicking other soldiers and pushing them deeper in the water to try and get to the top and out to breathe. The ship was going down quick and everyone was going down with it.

Harry struggled with his arms and legs against the current of the water being quickly engulfing the entire lower deck of this ship. He even screamed underwater because he was terrified and he couldn't breathe and he was using up all of his strength to try and swim to the top. They were by the door, they just needed to get it open.

Harry didnt see it at first. It was the other boy that noticed the light coming in from the outside deck lights. What Harry noticed was the boy starting to swim and he saw what he was swimming towards, he followed him. There were explosions coming left and right and making the swimming harder added onto the way the ship was tipping on its side and sinking slowly under the water and into the ocean.

Harry swam with all his might to get to the top, following the other out. He took a large gasp of air when he was out, reaching over to the railing to pull himself completely out of the water. He didnt stop there, though, he looked around at the other soldier and just started to swim in his direction as well. They saved him twice now, he wasn't going to just leave them and go out on his own. Not now.

The water was pitch black and the only light out there were from other ships or small boats used to save the hundreds of drowning soldiers. There was more than just their ship that got hit so there were so many others in the water trying to find shelter away from the sea. Harry would be concerned for everyone's well being if he weren't swimming for his life towards one of the rescue boats. They couldn't possibly swim all the way to shore without passing out from proper exhaustion.

Eventually him and the other nameless soldier got to a boat, them both trying to get the others hands to lift themselves in. They kept being pushed back down into the water, though. Which made them even more desperate to get in.

"No! You can't leave us!" Harry shouted, trying to grab hold of the mans hand that kept pushing him down into the water. He had to keep spitting out water because it kept getting in his mouth and over his face when he was pushed down. "Make some room!" He was shouting, desperate at this point.

"You're gonna capsize the boat. She's gonna have to take twice on the way out of here. Stay calm, there are plenty of boats." One of the soldiers in the boat spoke to them in a voice calm enough to drive Harry a little insane.

"Wait 'till you get torpedoed! Then—" He cut himself off with a shout of anger and exhaustion from fighting to get on.

"You have life jackets?" The same man spoke up again.

"Yes, they do." Another spoke up, one pushing the other soldier into the water.

"Dont panic, boys, the water's not too rough nor too cold." The other spoke up again, looking towards the other soldiers on the ship already. "Heading back to the beach! Bringing it across the chanel and getting you back to the beach. Wait for another ride. You other men in the water, preserve your strength, we'll come back for you." He spoke again.

Harry gave a soft sigh of relief when a rope was being handed into the water for him and the other soldier to grab onto and hold as the ship set sail once again towards the beach. It dragged them along through the water and Harry couldn't help but to start panting and just gazing up at the sky. He made it. He'll be okay.

_~_

_Harry held onto his duffel bag, looking out towards all the other soldiers that were called for duty boarding the train and saying their last farewells to their families and loved ones. Not all men were picked to go serve so there were brothers hugging brothers goodbye. Kids hugging their fathers off or fathers hugging their sons off._

_Then he looked back at Louis who was already staring at him and not bothering to look anywhere else. He wanted to look at Harry as much as he could before he gets shipped off where he wouldn't be able to reach him or even touch him anymore. No more cuddles at night, no more good morning kisses before they both went to work. No more holding hands as they took their walk. No more listening to Harry laugh when he would randomly jump on him and tickle him. No more hearing Harry whine about Louis stealing bits of food as he cooked._

_"Well.." Harry trailed off, shifted on his feet. Louis only smiled sadly and stepped forward, pulling Harry in for a hug, squeezing him tightly._

_"I'm so proud of you, Hazza.. So so proud of you. You're going to do great things and you're going to come back a hero." He spoke. He hasn't cried once since Harry got the uniform in the mail. And right now was the toughest time for him to hold himself together. But he needed to. He needs to stay strong for Harry. He just wished he got drafted instead because Harry.. Harry was fragile and Harry needed to stay home and be taken care of._

_"I'm gonna think about you every day." Harry mumbled softly, arms tight around Louis' waist. "Not a moment is gonna go by where I won't think about you."_

_Louis smiled sadly and just pulled away, reaching up and wiping under Harry's eyes since the boy had tears slowly falling down his face. "I know.. I'll be home cheering you on. Okay?"_

_Harry nodded._

_"Everyone who's getting on, please make your way inside the train cars! Everyone else, please step away and bid your goodbyes through the windows."_

_Louis and Harry both felt their hearts stop. Louis quickly pulled Harry down by his jacket and pressed their lips together. Then there was the train horn being sounded and they had to pull away._

_"I love you!" Louis called out as Harry was being escorted towards the door to one of the train cars._

_"I love you, too! Dont forget me!" Harry called back before he stumbled onto the train, quickly going to a seat by the window, putting his hand on the glass as he watched Louis. He saw him call out 'I'll never forget you!' But he couldn't hear a thing over the train screeching to start going. The last thing he saw of Louis was the tears falling down his face._

~

Harry woke up on the beach, sun barely visible through the clouds and waves hitting his legs. He was laid out next to the soldier he had been fighting to survive with the last day. He pushed himself up to sit, looking over the sleeping boys frame for a moment. Then he reached for his tags and read over the name embroidered onto it. Tommy..

It was around another hour before Tommy woke and then trailed up the beach to find the other nameless soldier that Tommy had been with. They shared not a word as they all sat there, eyes looking out over the horizon and the soldiers trying to get their boats back into the water.

Over the fog of the water was the faint outline of land in the deep waters. It was home. You can practically see it yet they couldn't get themselves to get there without anyone dying or having to head straight back to this beach at Dunkirk. Suddenly the photo in his breast pocket felt very heavy against his heart.

Eventually Harry found himself laying down, arms crossed over his chest as he glanced over at Tommy and the unnamed soldier who had just gave back with a coconut. Tommy was stabbing at it for a while now just trying to get it open while they were all desperate for a drink. Eventually, he got it open and took a drink from it, a rather large one. Then he handed it off to the other soldier for him to take a drink. Thats when Harry found himself sitting up, looking around for a moment. Then his eyes stared at a group of soldiers walking along the beach.

"Hey." He stated, pushing himself off of the sand to stand up. He didnt wait long before he started jogging down the beach towards the group, the other two getting up to follow behind him. They never spoke much but it was almost an unspoken rule to stick together and to stay close. They all found safety with one another. Well, Harry found safety within Tommy, that is.

"Hey! What's that way?" Harry called out as they got closer to the group. It seemed to be about eight other soldiers.

"Its a boat!" One called back. "Stranded! But when the tide comes in its not!" That was like an unspoken invitation so Harry, Tommy, and the other soldier fell into a walking rhythm with the other soldiers as they made their way towards the boat that was stranded.

~

_"You never asked me."_

_Louis looked down at Harry's head that rest in his lap as they were in the living room watching a new movie. Pride and Prejudice, per Harry's request. "Asked you what?"_

_"To be your boyfriend. You never asked." Harry commented, which made Louis give a small laugh, his hand reaching down to brush through Harry's hair._

_"Its been about a year and you're saying that now?" Louis questioned, his voice laced with nothing but fond._

_"Mhm." Harry stated. "Technically none of this is real because you never asked."_

_Louis only rolled his eyes. "I'll tell you what.. I'll take you back to the diner where I took you on our first date and I'll ask you to be my boyfriend then, alright?"_

_Harry grinned with a small nod. "Deal."_

_Harry and Louis went straight to the diner after their movie ended, sitting in the same booth that they sat in their first date._

_"If I remember correctly, you got a strawberry milkshake, right?" Louis asked after they sat down, pushing their menus to the side. Harry only smiled and nodded. "Good."_

_They spent their date acting like school children who were having their very first date with their crush they've liked for centuries. It wasn't until Harry finished his strawberry milkshake did he look down at the empty glass. However, it wasn't empty. He frowned a bit and reached into the glass, pulling out a piece of metal and just using a napkin to wipe off the whipped cream on his hand and the piece. Then he gasped at what he saw. It wasn't just any piece of metal, it was a ring. A diamond ring. He looked up at Louis, only to see he wasn't in the booth anymore. He looked over, seeing Louis on his knee next to him and thats when Harry covered his mouth._

_"Will you marry me, sweetie pie?"_

_Harry didnt even take a second to jump out of the booth and practically tackle Louis to the floor with kisses over his face. "Yes yes yes yes!"_

_Now, he knew they couldn't get married. That was against the law and it was even risky to be doing this right here because someone may think they need mental help. But he'd rather be engaged to Louis than be anything less at this point._

_"Better than a stupid boyfriend, eh?"_

_"Shut up and kiss me, you fool."_

_~_

When they got to the ship stranded on the sand, all the soldiers split up to look over the exterior and check out if it was suitable to even sail.

"Where's the crew?" One of the soldiers shouted.

"Probably got split and stuck it up on the beach." Another answered.

"Why?"

"Because we're outside the perimeter. Enemy could be right there!"

"Get on in the ship, lads! High tide could be coming!"

"When is that?"

"Maybe three hours."

With that, everyone was finding their way around the ship to assess any damage, which there was none, and then find their way up to the top deck to get themselves inside. It wasn't the biggest ship but it definitely held the lot of them. It was good enough. No one can afford to be picky at this point in time.

It was rather boring after that. Everyone found themselves inside of the ship, sitting down and just keeping to themselves. They were alright, though, and Harry couldn't have it any other way. They were safe and they just needed to wait out three hours until the tide can come and they can get their ship sailing and get home. Thats all its about right now. No one wants to fight, everyone wants to just get home.

It was about an hour in and they started to hear the heavy metal tapping of someone walking along the upper deck. It caused everyone to sit straighter and glance up at the top where the noise was coming from. There was no telling who it could be so everyone that had weapons bared them and Tommy was forced to look up the ladder to try and catch sight of a uniform.

Harry stayed low, not having any access to a weapon so he was pretty damn useless. Though, he still looked up and watched, guarded and ready to fight if needed. Nothing was worse than thinking you're surrounded and about to he under attack. Especially with such little men held up in the ship. They'd lose.

Right as there was sight of a foot, Tommy reached up and yanked it down so the man fell right in with everyone crowded around him, holding him down.

"Are you German?" One of the soldiers spoke out, voice deep. They needed to stay quiet but they also needed answers.

"No, Dutch! Dutch navy!" The other whispered out frantically, arms held high with wife eyes full of terror. "Here to pick you up. To help you."

"Why'd you leave you boat?" The same soldier from before spoke again.

"In case the Germans come." The Dutch spoke. "We-we are waiting at the beach. We're with the soldiers. We wait for the tide.. Its more hours until we float."

"More hours? Why'd you come back?"

Before the Dutch could answer, there was a shot being blasted through the boat. All of the soldiers jumped back and got low to the ground. Someone was shooting at them. It was silent for a good ten seconds before another shot came out, causing them all to flinch and duck further into the ground. When the third shot came through, everyone was grabbing their guns again and sitting up.

"No! No!" Tommy spoke up, holding a hand out. "They dont know we're in here."

"Well they're shooting at us." A soldier accused.

Tommy still shook his head, looking around for a moment. "The cabin.. Target practice." He whispered. Almost immediately after he said that there was another shot. No one denied that was the truth, though.

There was silence after that one shot. It was am eery silence that had everyone feeling as though their heart was going to burst in their chests. Then again, every other moment in this war and evacuation was no different. The tide was coming in now, the holes from where the bullets came from had water slowly start to pour into the ship from them. Which, well that wasn't good. They needed to have a lower deck not full of water to be able to sail. They all sat and stared at it before one of the soldiers was encouraging another to go plug it up.

The soldier seemed to be shaking but he still pushed himself up to his knees and then slowly to his feet, crouching down as he made his way over to the holes on the side of the ship. Before he could even reach up to plug any of the holes, another shot rang out and it caused the soldier to shout out and fall back. It had got his leg. Not even seconds passed before other soldiers were on him, covering his mouth and shushing him from screaming out in pain. They couldn't be found. They couldn't afford it.

Harry shifted a bit, trying to further himself from the scene. His eyes then just went to the holes in the ship with worry. This isn't going to work out. The ships floor was filling with water. He looked back around at everyone else at that point. "We have to plug it."

"Yeah, after you, mate." One of the soldiers spoke up. More and more bullets were being shot through the ship, though, and they were running out of time.

Harry huffed out and then just moved to one of the holes left in the ship and trued to look out. "We're going to sink fast! We need to lose some weight!"

"Weight? Weight, yes. Weight." The Dutch spoke with a frantic whisper. That was honestly no help so Harry just kept looking around.

"Somebody... Somebody needs to get off." Harry spoke. There was no time to take one for the team. Harry was taking this time to be a bit more selfish because he was going home. He had to go home.

"Well, volunteers?" Another soldier spoke up.

Harry shook his head. "I dont need a volunteer. I know someone who 'ought to get off." He stated, teeth clenched as he spoke. Then he pointed his finger towards the soldier that hadn't once spoke that followed him and Tommy around. "Him. He's a German spy."

Tommy spoke up after that, speaking directly towards Harry. "Dont be daft." He said in defense.

Harry shook his head. "He's a fucking German! Have you noticed he hasn't said a word? 'Cause I have." He then looked at the other with eyes blazing with rage. "You dont speak bloody English. And even if he does its in an accent thick as a sauerkraut sauce!"

Tommy only shook his head more, teeth biting both his lips and gaze holding nothing but anger. "You're daft." He stated again, looking at the other soldier. "Tell him." He told him.

"Yeah.." Harry spoke up. Then he reached over and snatched a gun from another soldier, cocking it back and aiming it at the silent soldier. "Tell me." It seemed as if every other soldier was on Harry's side as they stood behind him, Tommy being the only one who was frantic enough not to let the boy who helped him get taken off the ship.

The soldier still didnt speak so Harry just stepped closer. "Tell me." He growled out, reaching over and grabbing the tag around the boys neck. "Gibson." The water was making a fairly large impact on their ship and it was filling up steadily. Harry was desperate to get this boy off of the ship. "Tell me!"

Tommy reached over for the boys hand, desperate for him to prove himself so they didnt have to leave him to die. "Tell him for gods sake!"

The soldier seemed utterly terrified, looking around and shaking where he stood. "Français." He spoke, his French accent utterly noticeable, looking around worried and then back down at Tommy with pleading eyes.

Tommy seemed to be defeated, eyes filled with sorrow because he defended a French soldier.

Harry was just shocked. "A frog.." He breathed out. Then he looked back at the rest of the crew before back at Tommy. "A bloody frog! A cowardly, little cue jumping frog! Who's Gibson, eh? Some naked, dead Englishmen lying out in the sand? Did you have the decency to at least bury him?"

"He did. I helped him." Tommy spoke, voice smaller at this point. "I thought it was his mate."

Harry looked back at Tommy. "Maybe he killed him."

"He didn't kill him.."

Harry gave a small scoff in disbelief. "How do we know?"

"There's swarms of dead Englishmen on Dunkirk beach." Tommy defended, looking back at 'Gibson'. Then back at Harry. "He didnt kill anyone! He was just looking for a way off the sand like the rest of us!"

There were more shots being blown to the ship, causing everyone to drop down in fear of being hit.

"Someones got to get off!"

"She's still floating!"

"Floating, yes, but we need less weight to keep it that way." The Dutch spoke up again. Everyone's aim was on the French soldier now.

"Yeah and we know who's getting off." Harry stated.

"We can't do that!" Tommy exclaimed. "He's French, he's still on our side."

Harry stepped forward, grabbed the French soldiers shirt and yanked him over to the ladder. "Go on, then. Up you go."

"As soon as he goes out, they'll slaughter him!" Tommy exclaimed, trying to push Harry off of the French soldier.

"Better him than me!" Harry cried out, eyes looking over at Tommy.

"Thats not fair." Tommy shook his head.

"Survivals not fair!" Harry gritted out.

Tommy looked back at everyone else. "He saved my life."

"And he's supposed to do it again." Another soldier stated and lunged toward the French, Tommy trying to break it up.

Harry reached into his breast the pocket and pulled out a worn down photo, going to Tommy and yanking his collar to push him away. He shoved the photo in his face. "I can't die now! I promised I'd go back to him!" He spoke, showing fear and sorrow in his eyes for a split second as he spoke about Louis for the first time since he's left. Even if it was briefly, it still ached his heart. "Someone's got to get off so the rest of us can live. Do you want to go?"

"No.." Tommy mumbled, voice soft and weak as he shook his head. "I'm going home.."

Harry shoved the photo back into his pocket, look back at the French before back at Tommy. "If this is the price.."

Tommy glanced back at the French soldier for a moment before back down at Harry. "I'll live with it. Its wrong." Then Tommy just looked around. "One man isn't gonna make much difference."

"You best hope it does because you volunteer next." Another soldier stated, gun pointed at the French.

"What?"

"We're not brothers, man." Harry spoke up, panting softly. "Its just the way it is."

Before anything else could happen, Tommy jumped over Harry to grab the gun out of his hand, causing a shot to fire out and everyone to pack together in a fight for the weapon. Tommy wasn't letting the Frenchman die and Harry wasn't letting the Frenchman stay. However, that made the ship give a small jult and then it stopped swaying.

Harry stopped what he was doing and just gasped, looking around. "We've sunk!"

"Start the bloody engine!"

Everyone needed to duck at that point because now they were definitely spotted and more gunshots rang through the ships metal exterior.

~

_"You're not taking that."_

_Harry pouted._ _"But, Lou, its such a cute photo."_ _He pouted as he held up the Polaroid of Louis. "You look so soft in the cream jumper and your fluffy hair! Plus, you've got scruff. My favorite."_

_Louis rolled his eyes. "Why not take one of the both of us?"_

_"Because I dont want to remember us. I dont want to remember the happy times we shared.. I want to remember your smile and your light and what having you with me did to me. I dont want to remember us as a couple, I want to remember you as a person. As the person that means the most to me in the world."_

_Louis stared for a moment and then just leaned over, gently pulling Harry in for a soft kiss. "I love you."_

_Harry hummed against his lips. "You better." And with that, Louis gave a laugh and just pushed Harry back on the sofa, climbing over him and pressing their lips back together._

_~_

The water was filling up faster than any of them can handle in the ship. Its to the point where they could no longer stand and they had to swim to keep their head above water to breathe. The holes in the ship were no longer able to be plugged up, there were far too many of them and more being made as the minutes passed. Everyone scurried around to try and use their hands and anything they could get to cover up the incoming water so that way the ship didn't fill up entirely. Though it brought no real help and it was no use.

"Abandon ship!" One of the soldiers called out and once that ice was broken, everyone hurried away from their spots trying to cover up any holes.

Harry swam out, going towards the ladder where everyone else was exiting out of. He found himself leaving last, moving to climb the ladder when he didnt see anyone else in the ship, though he seemed to miss the French soldier struggling under water as he climbed out and jumped from the boat.

There was a boat picking up soldiers to leave, his heart feeling heavy with relief as he followed everyone else towards the ship, swimming with heavy arms as he was worn down from everything happening. The boat was small, he felt good about this time around. As they swam, he noticed they were going straight into oil but he didnt pay much mind to it. Not until there was the cackling of a plane over head plummeting towards the water. he cursed softly, swimming a bit faster.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion after that. They almost got to the ship as the plane fell towards the water there was a large explosion, the oil in the water catching fire too quickly for some of the soldiers to get away from. Harry had to take a deep breath, pushing himself under water so the flames didnt completely engulf his entire body. From what he saw, soldiers everywhere were struggling due to being covered in oil themselves. He swam towards the ship, coming up for air then. He saw a blonde boy holding out his hand for him to take but he didnt. He just looked back and swam over to help the others that needed it. He pushed other soldiers towards the ship, helping those wounded where they couldn't swim. He even helped those partially burnt. He had this large weight of guilt running over him and he felt the need to help as many as he could get to the boat before himself.

He was taking in large amounts of oil trying to breathe in, the taste rotten and stale in his mouth and taking over his senses. When he finally felt his body start to shut itself down, he just pushed his way towards the ship again, gasping in more oiled out water as he tried to get there as fast as he could. At least he can say he's saved more than seven soldiers right then. He eventually grabbed the hands of two offering, getting his body pulled up onto the ship and laid out over a couple other soldiers. However, he had to turn and cough up water which only came out black.

"He's inhaled oil!" The blonde one from before shouted. He coughed up more, shaking his head, leaning back and just looking up at the blonde.

"Is everyone alright?" Harry questioned, reaching his hand up to wipe his mouth even though it made his mouth a bit dirtier.

"They're fine. You're alright." The blonde spoke, kneeling down. "What do I do?" He called back into the cabin.

"There's nothing you can do! He needs medical attention! The oil alone is toxic but mixing it with water is another thing. If he makes it back, he needs a doctor. How'd much did he take?" Another voice called out. The blonde looked back at Harry with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Dying by.." Harry cut himself off by coughing out more oil from his lungs. It felt almost as if his lungs were shrinking. It was terribly painful. As if all the chemicals were eating him from the inside out. "Dying by oil... What a way to go in war." He continued, giving a soft laugh before his head tilted back and he gave a loud groan.

"Its okay. You're gonna make it. You'll be alright. You saved those soldiers and now we're gonna save you."

That's the last thing Harry's heard before he just shut his eyes.

**_London, England._ **

Louis heard a knock upon the door, rushing over to it, hopping a bit as he tried to put his shoe on. Today they said the soldiers were coming back from war. Coming back from Dunkirk. That's where his Harry was and they were all coming back. It couldn't be a better day in the entire world.

With a grin, he opened up the door and just looked at the man in uniform before giving a soft laugh. "I was just heading out, sir. You're here to tell me Harry Styles is coming back, right? I'm his emergency contact. I'm his ride home." He spoke with a grin, putting his foot down and just reaching over for the coat rack for his jacket.

"I wouldn't leave just yet.." The man spoke softly, making Louis frown a bit as he slowly put his coat on.

"What do you mean, sir? I've got to go to the train station.. They're coming back today. It's all over the radio and the newspapers." Louis explained. "I've got to go, I'm sorry."

Before Louis could step out, the man in uniform stepped in front of him. Then he just slowly held up a letter for Louis. "I'm so sorry."

Louis looked down at it and just frowned once again. "What's this?" He asked, voice barely loud enough to be heard. Slowly, his hand reached up and took the letter, opening it up and taking out the yellow slip of paper. He gave one last look at the man before he let his eyes read over the words written out and his heart stopped.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Louis shook his head, looking back up at the man. "No.. No, no no no." He stated. His eyes instantly weld up in tears. "He's not gone. He's not! He's on the train home!"

"Sir, I'm —"

Louis just gave out a scream of pain from the way his heart shattered in his chest, crumbling to the ground with the letter crushed in his fist against his chest.

~

Everyone was there. The lieutenant, Tommy, every soldier that was on the ship back home, even the blonde boy who helped Harry up and the one who sailed the ship in the first place. Harry's family was there as was Louis'. However, the only one up to the open casket was Louis. He gently put the newspaper with the headline ' ** _Soldier Risks His Life To Save Others_** ' with Harry's picture on it gently besides Harry's body. Then he held the tattered and torn picture of Louis he had in his uniform when they brought him back. He gently kissed it before placing it down by Harry's cold hands that were held together over his stomach.

"I told you that you'd come back a hero."


End file.
